Long Legs On A Tight Ash

[blackhawk]

Thanks bowmo...funny thing i harvested an ash before this one that was only 300 yards away from where this one was cut,and it was junk...and both were cut right out my backdoor basically...no driving needed....

Thank Brian...your lucky then

[Carson (CMB)]

That is a fine piece of ash.   Glad you left her undressed for the pics.   

[koan]

Thanks bowmo...funny thing i harvested an ash before this one that was only 300 yards away from where this one was cut,and it was junk...and both were cut right out my backdoor basically...no driving needed....

Thank Brian...your lucky then

cant tell ya what kinda ash it was.. got it in 5/4 board form from the Amish. Was able to chase a ring on one and made several board bows from the rest, all 68-72".I really like it... Brian

[Buckeye Guy]

Sure thing Guy....but what are you going to do with it? Make a bow? Pfhahaha  thanks

Chris you are most likely correct , but it is hard for a fellow that has been doing this stuff all his life to admit he might be done ,gota keep dreaming or it will be true !
At least I can still make something that looks like a bow and most folks can't tell the difference anyway !!! 
Guy

[kiltedcelt]

Not much I can say that other folks haven't said already - pretty much all the best puns have been used up. Oh well. I'll settle for - awesome lookin' bow, fantastic dye job, really brings that grain out, and I love those tip overlays. I've always cut grooves in with any overlays I've done, but I like that simplistic almost brush nock-lookin' tip style you've done. I'll have to try that style myself in the future. Two questions though - first why so long? Did you feel the wood was marginal so you went longer with the limbs to reduce stress? Also, what kind of dye did you use? Was it a leather dye or one of the wood-specific dyes that you dilute with alcohol?

[blackhawk]

I'll still write your name on one guy,and you can dream on it 

Thanks kiltedcelt ....several reasons why I went long(according to your opinion)....funny thing is back in medieval n Victorian age Europe this was fairly average length....and its because longbows are more accurate...plain n simple...and when shooting at longer distances a longer bow is more stable and will be easier for an Archer to hit distances farther away than normal hunting distance shots....also a longer bow(if done right) will have better cast on average ...once you get over a certain length tho the rise in fps is smaller and very minimal,and the longer you go the more critical mass weight becomes out in the outer ends of the bow...and the longer string means a heavier string...and yes because I felt a long and wide design with narrow outer stiff tips was a good design for ash which is a lighter bow wood,and can be weak in compression....and that's as simple as I can say it without writing a book as much more can be said...

[Carson (CMB)]

That dye job is beautiful.  Did you use osage shavings to get that color? 

[blackhawk]

Carson... no its not osage shavings dye....just a dye called trans tint I picked up at a woodworking store ...thanks

[George Tsoukalas]

It's a beauty! Nicely done. Jawge

[Arrowind]

Hey blackhawk,

 That bow is sweet!  I really like ash...it reminds me of more medieval bows which I think are cool.  I have made a few but always tend to end up with more set than I would like.  I have a couple roughed out right now and plan to temper. 

Did you temper it a little less than you normally do or about the same?  I've read that a "light tempering" is better for ash than a more in depth or deeper temper for some reason...  Do you think that's true?
Not sure if I'm asking this right...  Anyway.

[soy]

I think its just a perfect fit for the young one!!!!

[blackhawk]

Thanks jawge

Thanks soy

Thanks arrowind...im not an expert on ash,but I'll share my experiences ...on this one I just tempered it medium before I braced the bow...I then just monitored it as I tillered, and it took very little loss even tho I tillered most the color off....I have tempered one ash before(from different tree) much deeper and it ended up breaking in tension...not sure if it was just bad wood or the tempering made the back tension weak,although no burn marks hit the back and it didnt scorch it...and some ash will just take set no matter what ya do and is very weak in compression...it has varied a lot for me....this one showed great characteristics for bow wood tho...i only lost an inch from what I started with ...ive been shooting this one a bit lately n last night again,and its still maintaining nicely,n shoots like a sniper rifle

[Onebowonder]

...so, if I'm hearing you right, it's important to have a little bit of a temper on a nice peice of Ash, ...but too much temper can lean to breaking things and get painful real quick.  Is that about right?

OneBow

[Sidewinder]

Yeah thats a tall glass o water fer sure. Like all your bows, beautiful. The stain job really does the grain justice. I bet with that length balance on target is sweet.   Danny

[BowSlayer]

nice one. thanks for posting. love the conoured handle.